The concept of guerilla marketing: “A low cost and innovative marketing strategy” and the

associated marketing trends.

SUBMITTED TO:DR. VANDANA KHANNAK.J. SOMAIYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES AND RESEARCH

SUBMITTED BY:NIDHI JAINPGDM (MARKETING)ROLL NO. 114BATCH 2008-10

SYNOPSIS

1.1 Title

To study “The concept of guerilla marketing: A low cost and innovative marketing strategy” and

the associated marketing trends.

1.2 Objective

The purpose of this study is to understand the literature on the topic and to understand the

process of guerilla marketing. There is also another important objective to understand the

importance and need for guerilla marketing.

1.3 Scope of the Paper

The paper would focus broadly on the following aspects:-

What is guerilla marketing?

What are the guerilla marketing tactics and weapons?

How is guerilla marketing different from traditional marketing?

The effects of guerilla marketing on brand equity.

The various sub sectors to be covered are:

Small scale industries.

New entrepreneurial ventures.

1.4 Methodology

The methodology would be to refer to at least 20 articles on the subject to get an understanding

of the same and make a report thereafter. The method would be analytical and would be based on

the concepts learnt.

1.5 Relevance of the paper

The term “guerilla marketing” is used to describe an unusual system of promotions on a very low

budget, relying on time, energy, and the imagination instead of big marketing budgets. Up to par

the term has also come to describe aggressive, unusual marketing methods generically. Guerilla

Marketing is specifically geared for the small business and entrepreneur. In this competitive,

swift, and overcrowded marketplace more companies are resorting to the use

of guerrilla marketing, which, simply stated, uses unconventional marketing methods to gain

conventional results. Like in warfare, guerrilla tactics are used when an organization is small

and/or does not have the resources to deal with a large, entrenched enemy head on. Instead of

believing that single marketing weapons such as advertising or a website work, guerrillas know

that only marketing combinations work. The paper would serve to understand this process in a

greater depth. It also makes an attempt to study the associated marketing trends for innovative

marketing.

1.6 Expected Findings:

The paper serves to explore the uses and needs for the guerilla marketing approach and how they

are superior and different from the traditional marketing tactics. The associated marketing

techniques of innovative marketing in the new era of cost cutting but bearing maximum impact

on the consumer will also be highlighted.

1. LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Guerrilla Marketing- Introduction

1.1.1 Definition: The term "guerrilla marketing" describes unconventional marketing

campaigns and/or strategies which should have a significant promotional effect - this

at a fraction of the budget that "traditional" marketing campaigns would spend for the

same goal.

1.1.2 Origin: Generally, the term "guerrilla marketing" is an example of the transfer of

military-related and warfare-related terminology to the marketing domain. Guerrilla

marketing adapts the "hit & run" guerrilla warfare tactics "invented" by Mao-Tse

Tung. Hit if you can win but run if you can't. Guerrilla marketing strategies avoid

marketing activities, thus wasting marketing budgets, when there is already high-level

competition for customer attention. In contrast, guerrilla marketing activities tends to

be eye-catching and surprising when used - thus, being highly efficient in terms of

gaining customer attention.

1.1.3 Basic principles of guerrilla marketing: Pursuing the analogy with Mao-Tse Tung's

guerrilla warfare tactics seven rules can be identified which illustrate the principles on

which guerrilla marketing relies. These are:

Concentrate your resources (time, place, topic) to achieve temporary superiority.

Sell the ideology along with the product, not the product alone.

Identify established patterns, analyse them and overcome these patterns.

Search for synergies.

Try to outsmart any perception filters established in your target group.

Do not go the direct way; try to find the detours offering alternatives.

Be flexible and agile instead of building strongholds.

Looking at these rules, one can find several aspects that are not far from the "standard"

marketing strategies. Some aspects, however, have completely different approaches, for

instance - go for temporary superiority, i.e. not dominating the customer attention all the time

but through a particular marketing activity, and also working on ideology based

communication, i.e. not trying to sell only the product directly.

Guerrilla marketing is based on marketing the implicit attributes of products or services

rather than their explicit, functional aspects. Rather than introducing the product itself, by

introducing the idea that comes with it, it addresses the emotional ideology bound up with the

product. This is done with the superiority of attention obtained at least in the very moment of

communicating. Thus, guerrilla marketing tries to target the emotional aspects of a buying

decision by differentiating a product on an ideological level rather than a functional level.

2.1.4 Key Principles: There are a number of key principles that characterise guerrilla

marketing. These can be remembered by the acronym NEAPS.

Networks - businesses should constantly look to make contacts and build relationships.

Energy - remember that every contact and every day is an opportunity to market your

company. This is called 360 degree marketing.

Activity - be aware that there are always opportunities to make your product known and

find ways of doing this when the opportunity arises.

Presence - find ways to make your business known to the market. This could be through

chat rooms, email, forums, discussion boards, radio, magazine, street posters, graffiti and

so on.

Smart - make sure that you do not offend customers. (Some businesses have in fact

turned this rule on its head by deliberately offending people they know are unlikely to be

customers, and they then use the controversy to create awareness in their target

audience.)

1.2 Guerrilla Marketing tactics and weapons

2.2.1 Stealth Marketing: It is noted that word of mouth and peer group recommendation are

the most effective promotional and marketing tools. The objective of creating "buzz" for a

new product or service is to perpetuate an environment where consumers carry the message

along to others. Stealth marketing techniques are being driven by a growing criticism of the

advertising industry. Guerrilla marketing techniques include viral marketing, brand pushers,

celebrity marketing, bait-and-tease marketing, etc. While these campaigns come in many

disguises, and some seem to be stealthier than others, they each represent a viable alternative

to traditional advertising. The most successful form of stealth is when consumers do not even

notice the commercial messages.

Despite the criticisms from various quarters, stealth marketing is here to stay. It has a

powerful role to play when it is tastefully implemented. As traditional television

advertisements continue to lose their effectiveness, brand managers are being

pressured to think outside the box by going undercover to reach consumers. To capture the

attention of jaded, fickle consumers, they will continue to devise new approaches that are

harder to detect. Brand managers are gambling that the benefits of stealth marketing will

outweigh the castigations by critics. The future of stealth marketing is rather rosy since large

advertisers are embracing the concept with open arms.

2.2.1.1 Viral Marketing: Viral marketing is also known as buzz marketing, convergence

marketing and reaching the tipping point, all of which refer to word-of-mouth

communication about a brand or product. This is powered to the point of significance by

access to cheap and easy communication techniques, SMS, email and mobile phones, and can

lead to the generation of explosive demand or ruination for the product. Many marketers

think of viral marketing as just PR and do not see themselves in control of the phenomenon

but it can present opportunities to spread the word and raise approval and product trial. While

accepted for use in specialist niche areas the real opportunity for viral marketing is in mass

marketing. Viral marketing offers three advantages. First, it incurs very little expense as the

transmission cost is born by the consumer who forwards it to their email contact list. Second,

forwarding the advertising is voluntary and will be viewed more favourably. Third, the

forwarder has selected who to send the message to, thus effectively targeting the audience.

Successful viral marketing depends on consumers perceiving value in transmitting the

message to others without feeling used. It makes talking to consumers easier, with low cost

and minimal response time, and is worth the effort to find the creative way to build it into

your marketing campaign.

2.2.1.2 Brand pushers: Brand pushers are either hired or volunteer to generate buzz for a

particular company's product. Brand pushers are among the techniques of stealth marketing,

which was ranked No.2 among IP Innovator’s Top 10 Trends for 2005. Stealth marketing is a

means to reach a target audience without the advertisement being perceived as an

advertisement.

2.2.2 Methods for Guerrilla Marketing: There is a list of some methods for guerrilla

marketing that can be used. These methods are:

Product give-aways, including free demonstrations and consultations

Intrigue - generating mystery to engage customers

Peer marketing - bringing people with similar interests or ages together to build up

interest in the product

SMS text and video messaging

Roach baiting and buzz marketing - using actors to behave as normal customers to create

interest, controversy or curiosity in a product or service

Live commercials - using people to do live commercials in key places such as clubs and

pubs

Bill stickers - an approach used to promote DJs and club events

Guerilla marketing encompasses marketing approaches such as buzz marketing, viral

marketing, and grassroots marketing. Guerilla marketing employs give-aways and contests,

special events and "happenings", and street teams and other highly visible marketing teams.

The guerilla marketing approach is a low-cost, high impact form of marketing that stresses

creativity and capitalizes on the immediacy of needs. It is an approach that is flexible and

responsive to changing conditions and relies on a willingness to try many different

approaches. Above all it is fun and attention catching. Also called extreme marketing,

grassroots marketing, or feet-on-the-street marketing, a guerilla campaign has no preset rules

or boundaries. Guerilla marketing uses a combination of engaging vehicles including

elements of public relations, advertising, and marketing into an offensive promotion strategy

to reach consumers through a variety of means. The element of surprise may be guerilla

marketing's greatest attribute. A successful campaign catches the audience off-guard for both

high impact and high recall. Attention-getting street graphics, strange occurrences,

memorable events, buzz, and product placement are all told of a guerilla marketer. If

executed properly, a guerilla campaign can be a low-cost, high-impact way to connect with

prospects, introduce your name, or remind customers you are still here. Guerilla techniques

have been used by a number of brands, both large and small, in different situations.

2.2.3 Steps in building Guerrilla Marketing campaign

Guerilla marketing starts with careful planning and recommends 10 steps, including (1) do

the analysis; (2) consider research; (3) plan your course of action; (4) brainstorm; (5)

know no boundaries; (6) employ the brand test; (7) sweat the details; (8) be legal; (9)

show integrity; and (10) when it comes to results, don't judge too quickly. In terms of

being legal, the most common pitfalls of guerilla marketing are trespassing on private

property, defacing private or public property, and not getting permission from the

property owners when required.

Guerilla outlets may include some obvious dangers. For example, a large proliferation of

advertisements on highways might distract drivers' attention, thus causing traffic

accidents. Alternative outlets could pose more subtle dangers. Improperly conducted

campaigns may cause social disorder.

Guerrilla marketing has proven to be a valuable communication and outreach tool. In

today's noisy environment, the acuity of a guerilla marketing effort is an effective weapon

to cut through the competition. However, if improperly developed and executed, guerilla

marketing can also exert negative effects on a brand.

2.3 Differentiating guerrilla marketing from traditional marketing

Guerrilla marketing is marketing that is unconventional, non-traditional, not by-the-book,

and extremely flexible. Some of the factors that make it different from old-fashioned

marketing are:

The usage of time money and energy instead of only money.

Use of the science of psychology, actual laws of human behavior not guesswork.

Instead of being oriented to companies with limitless bank accounts, guerrilla marketing

is geared to small business.

Guerrillas grow profitably and then maintain their focus instead of growing large and

diversifying.

Instead of encouraging you to advertise, guerrilla marketing provides you with 100

different marketing weapons; advertising is only one of them.

Instead of growing linearly by adding new customers, guerrillas grow geometrically by

enlarging the size of each transaction, generating more repeat sales, leaning upon the

enormous referral power of customers, and adding new customers.

The description of a "guerrilla manager" includes "doing what works and doing it better over

time." It's vital to push your process as fast as possible, guerrilla managers favor

implementing programs, tracking them, cutting the losers, and managing the winners for

increased success. Guerrilla manager would be much more enthusiastic and open to the new

idea then a traditional marketer would be.

2.3.1 Reasons to use Guerrilla Marketing

Guerilla techniques have been used by a number of brands, both large and small, in different

situations. A common reason to use guerilla marketing techniques is to find a new way to

communicate with consumers. Nike sought to communicate with consumers through instant

messaging. In a competition titled Speed Mob, pairs of participants were sent questions about

new Nike products via instant messages; the first participant to answer the questions correctly

progressed to the final round.

Another reason to use guerilla marketing is to interact with an audience. In 2005, Burger King

implemented a guerilla marketing campaign to increase sales by 25'K) in Asian countries. The

campaign, designed by Ogilvy RedCard, aimed to attract more consumers into Burger King's

restaurants. Some of the steps included "putting 'IBK' on T-shirts and placing them on statues of

Ronald McDonald, placing large footprints from McDonald's to Burger King, and putting signs

on empty benches that said 'gone to BK – Ronald”. Burger King wants to engage with people on

the street and humor is a great way to get their attention and win them over.

A third reason to use guerilla marketing is to make your advertising accessible to customers

everywhere. To promote its "Orange" online banking solutions, ING Direct initiated guerilla

campaigns in the metropolitan regions of Boston, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

During one winter morning commute in Washington, ING Direct sponsored rides anywhere on

the rail or bus networks. "Orange-clad staff leafleted passengers as they passed under orange

banners, through orange fare boxes and by orange light box diorama advertisements”. To further

drive home its message, the company placed ads in subway cars and on the sides of buses. The

event captured the attention of immediate prospects and generated extensive media coverage.

A fourth reason to use guerilla techniques is to impact a spot market. Microsoft promotes its

notes organizing software on campuses across the country by employing students to be

ambassadors, that is, door-to-door salespersons. The selected students are campus leaders with

large social networks that can be tapped. The ambassadors are expected to spend about 10 to 15

hours a week talking up the software to friends, securing corporate sponsorship of campus

events, and persuading student newspaper reporters to mention products in articles. They are also

required to chalk sidewalks and fill bulletin boards with company posters. The student

ambassador tactic embraces all the elements that corporations find most effective: It's peer-to-

peer, its word of mouth, it's flexible, and it breaks through the clutter of other media and grows

quickly. Two final reasons to use guerrilla marketing are to create buzz and build relationships.

2.3.2 Key advantages and pitfalls in the use of guerrilla marketing

Guerrilla marketing has a number of key advantages, especially for small businesses that have

limited marketing budgets.

Flexibility - it can be changed easily because it is small scale. As a result, the campaign

can respond to changing conditions and circumstances quickly.

Cost - because of the types of activities, it is a very low-cost way of marketing.

Targeted - activities can be targeted at the market that is most likely to buy the product or

service. This improves the efficiency of the marketing campaign and improves returns.

Simplicity - many guerrilla marketing methods are simple and easy to implement, and

they do not require massive financial outlay.

Despite the success stories and the many reasons to use guerilla strategies, if directed at the

wrong audience or not executed properly, guerilla marketing can actually hurt your brand.

guerilla marketing starts with careful planning and recommends 10 steps, including (1) do the

analysis; (2) consider research; (3) plan your course of action; (4) brainstorm; (5) know no

boundaries; (6) employ the brand test; (7) sweat the details; (8) be legal; (9) show integrity;

and (10) when it comes to results, don't judge too quickly.

In terms of being legal, the most common pitfalls of guerilla marketing are "trespassing on

private property, defacing private or public property, and not getting permission from the

property owners when required. In Singapore, placing Burger King stickers on bus schedules

to indicate store locations may be considered an act of vandalism. In addition to getting

permission from private owners, some irregular action held in public places should also be

approved by local government.

2.3.3 Need for guerrilla marketing

Levinson defines ‘Guerrilla Marketing’ as ‘achieving conventional goals, such as profits and joy,

with unconventional methods, such as investing energy instead of money’.

The need for guerrilla marketing can be seen in the light of three facts:

Because of big business downsizing, decentralization, relaxation of government

regulations, affordable technology, and a revolution in consciousness, people around the

world are gravitating to small business in record numbers.

Small business failures are also establishing record numbers and one of the main reasons

for the failures is a failure to understand marketing.

Guerrilla marketing has been proven in action to work for small businesses around the

world. It works because it's simple to understand, easy to implement and outrageously

inexpensive.

Guerrilla marketing is needed because it gives small businesses a delightfully unfair

advantage: certainty in an uncertain world, economy in a high-priced world, simplicity in a

complicated world, marketing awareness in a clueless world.

2.4 The effects of guerilla marketing on brand equity

The example illustrated below discusses the practice of guerrilla marketing and the events

surrounding the failed marketing ploy for the television show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." The

effectiveness and dangers of innovative and alternative guerrilla marketing on the brand equity

are discussed and where the Boston event seeking to point out where the project went too far.

On January 31, 2007, a battery-powered device about a foot square, with dangling wires and

glittering lights, was found in a main interaction of Boston. Vast resources were soon assembled

in the city to investigate the suspicious threat. "At the height of the alert," a police officer noted,

"authorities mobilized emergency crews, federal agents, bomb squads, hundreds of police and

the US Coast Guard...roads, bridges, and even part of the Charles River were closed".

Manpower, time, and money were devoted to protecting the city from a suspected terrorist threat

that turned out to be nothing more than a marketing ploy.

The perceived dangerous devise displayed a boxy cartoon character giving an obscene hand

gesture to promote the late-night cartoon, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, a surreal series on Turner

Broadcasting System's Cartoon Network about "a talking milkshake, a box of fries and a wad of

meat". The same light boards had also been placed for two to three weeks in New York, Los

Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia as part of a

guerrilla marketing campaign implemented by Turner's third-party marketing firm, Interference.

Following immense media coverage and finger pointing, a deal was announced in which Turner

Broadcasting and Interference would pay $1 million to reimburse state, federal and local law

enforcement agencies for the cost of responding to the "threat." In addition, Turner would

allocate $1 million in goodwill funds for security and community programs. The individuals who

positioned the light boards around the city were originally charged with placing a hoax device

resulting in panic and disorderly conduct. Under the agreement, Turner, Interference, and anyone

representing the companies, would not face any charges.

Blogs, attention-getting street graphics, strange occurrences and memorable events are some of

the tools of the guerilla marketer. But the very best guerilla strategy directed at the wrong

audience or for the wrong reason won't accomplish a thing. In fact, it can actually hurt the brand.

Guerilla marketing should thus start with careful planning

2.5 Guerrilla marketing in entrepreneurial ventures

Entrepreneurial marketing is used as an integrative conceptualization that reflects such

alternative perspectives as guerrilla marketing, radical marketing, expeditionary marketing,

disruptive marketing and others. Seven core dimensions of EM are identified, and an underlying

theoretical foundation based on resource advantage theory is proposed. A conceptual model is

introduced of key factors surrounding the phenomenon of entrepreneurial marketing. The

merging of the entrepreneurship and marketing disciplines has important implications in terms of

business ethics. The very nature of entrepreneurial behavior requires vigilance on the part of the

marketer in terms of adherence to an ethical standard. Another implication of EM concerns the

way in which future marketers are trained.

Effective marketing today requires different strategies at different stages and makes a distinction

between "entrepreneurial marketing" or guerrilla, grassroots marketing in the early stages of

company development, and "intrapreneurial marketing" or creative, non-formulaic marketing in

the later stages. In spite of these various uses of the term, a consistent definition has not been

promulgated, nor have the underlying components of the construct been specified.

For our purposes, entrepreneurial marketing is proposed as an integrative construct for

conceptualizing marketing in an era of change, complexity, chaos, contradiction, and

diminishing resources, and one that will manifest itself differently as companies age and grow. It

fuses key aspects of recent developments in marketing thought and practice with those in the

entrepreneurship area into one comprehensive construct.

Entrepreneurial marketing results in "guerrilla" approaches to the individual elements of the

marketing mix, creative methods of resource leveraging, and a variety of techniques for

managing or mitigating risks.

Marketers must develop a personal approach to the identification and pursuit of entrepreneurial

opportunity. The approach must reflect skills in obtaining sponsors, building a flexible team

structure, insulating projects, building project momentum, obtaining resources that have not been

formally assigned to a project, developing internal support networks, and managing expectations.

2.6 Guerrilla marketing in SMEs

Small and medium-sized firms face disadvantages in the dynamic global market place today. The

authors suggest that "fast cycle decision making" can create economic advantages that will allow

the smaller firm to aggressively compete against much larger rivals. Fast cycle decision making

suggests deception, rapid response and being able to "turn inside" your opponent's decision

cycle.

Guerrilla decision making focuses resources on objectives quickly, effectively, and efficiently,

with goal orientation being more long-term than near-term guerrilla. By extension, large

institutional decision making and strategy development fail in one or more of these basic

characteristics. Decision making at the SME level is by its very nature a rapid, iterative,

interactive responsibility process involving people and their dependent, independent, and

interdependent relationships to the various environments (internal and external) that tend to

shape, reshape, and disrupt the various elements of doctrinal strategy and policy on a painfully

persistent basis. Organizations will be required to adopt flatter structures, greater empowerment,

and substantially more high-speed, reduced-cycle decisions at all levels. Guerrilla techniques,

when examined, may provide a platform for extension and expansion of rapid, asynchronous,

decision-making models.

At the most basic, guerrilla activities are the practical methods of achieving objectives that differ

little from the more conventional strategic objectives. Guerrilla decisions should, in an analytical

sense, compliment doctrinal strategy. Fundamentally, guerrilla decisions and activities provide

greater flexibility, variability, and adjustability during the entrepreneurial struggle of most (if not

all) SME existence. The long-term objectives remain constant in the long-run: (1) profitability

for growth and development; (2) marketability for the purpose of creating and maintaining

customer satisfaction; and (3) organizational stability for cultural harmony and health. Still, there

are few, yet basic, principles that should be introduced so that all activities are not attributed to

guerrilla for the sake of dismissive expedience.

The first set of principles considered provides the framework of contemporary SME and is not

intended to support any specific type of guerrilla decision. Too often guerrilla tactics in business

are seen as being specifically designed to dismantle and not merely disrupt. The author(s)

suggest that while there is a disequilibrium that may occur in the wake of guerrilla decisions, the

intent is to formulate a more rapid decision-making and competitive response process. The

principles posited are adapted from those promoted by Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the Argentine-

born revolutionary, in his treatise on guerrilla warfare in 1961. They are:

Principle 1: Popularly demanded products and services can extract considerable market

responsiveness when confronted by larger corporate product and service offerings.

Principle 2: It is not necessary to wait for all conditions to be strategically aligned to implement

guerrilla activity decisions.

Principle 3: The local/community market-place is the best and most basic area for guerrilla

activity success.

Of these three basic principles, the first directly contradicts the general business wisdom

embedded in Porter’s Five-Factor Model of Market profitability, which suggests that the number

of competitors, their size, and their commitment of resources will determine the intensity of

competition. While it is imperative that the issues of viability remain foremost, the guerrilla can

survive and thrive in a more structured strategic environment of larger, more dominant

organizations without spending inordinate resources concentrating on the combined effect of

these profitability variables. This contradiction does not negate the strategic importance of the

five factors; rather the contradiction provides the impetus for action at a level that does not

depend upon size or power of the participant.

The second principle provides the platform for action. While economists and strategic theorists

promote the benefit of strategic alignment, the guerrilla very often possesses neither the resource

capability nor the competitive position to wait.

Herein it is important to assert that guerrilla activities are actions of precision and not actions of

dominance. For the SME, time is critical, and decisions must be made without perfect

information or strategic resources.

Together these first two basic principles provide the morale boost to empower and enable SMEs

to engage selectively and decisively. Guerrilla activities help the SME decision making to

crystallize more effectively around specific target markets, specific objectives, and with specific

metrics of success, significantly more so than the slower, vaguer and often abstract aspects of

corporate, strategic decision making.

Additionally, the third principle is fundamentally a proposition of location of action. Too often,

larger, more global organizations will dogmatically opt for the large, aggregated population

characteristics and forget or neglect the immense power associated with smaller, more localized

communities.

2.6.1 OODA loopOODA is an acronym for Observation, Orientation, Decision, and Action. This sequence of

individual and/or organizational cognitive processes is also referred to as the “Boyd Cycle”

because it is attributed to the late Colonel John R. Boyd, a pioneering jet-fighter pilot and

strategic theorist with the U.S. Air Force. OODA Loop model fits highly dynamic, competitive

decision methods wherein the decision maker intuitively maps operational flows, seeks ways of

reducing critical path implementation time of competitive activity, and closely monitors

progress. Entrepreneurs and guerrillas, like successful fighter pilots, enter new competitive

encounters employing the mindtime-space relationship of variety, rapidity, harmony, and

initiative to attain a specific objective.

Decomposition of the OODA Loop procedure within general theories of entrepreneurship and

the three principles of guerrilla decision activities that are articulated herein may provide

valuable insight into the decision-making specifications and benefits associated with SMEs,

entrepreneurial enterprise, and guerrilla strategy. The steps of OODA include:

Observe: The observe component is the 360-degree lens wherein real-time data enters the

sensory awareness of the decision maker. These raw, untransformed bits are ubiquitous, without

specific form, and do not, at this early stage, provide any substantive decision-specific

information. These data include (1) outside information, (2) unfolding circumstances, (3)

unfolding interactions with the environment, and (4) components of an implicit guidance control.

Orientation: Perhaps the most critical of the model components is “Orientation.” While

observation provides the data, it is orientation that shapes and filters the data into usable

decision-sensitive information. This shaping function provides context, urgency or currency, and

dimensionality to the phenomena. When faced with a decision situation, the combined effects of

genetics, culture, tradition, heritage, expertise, experience, analytical skills, and synthesis engage

to formulate a plan of action.

Decide: Feeding forward from the orientation component, the decision maker must determine

possible courses of action, evaluate possible consequences, make critical selections, and decide.

Entrepreneurial decision making can be enhanced through experience, training, schooling, and

innate ability. Accordingly, decision heuristics are the result of the orientation associated with

the individual or organizational elements responsible for making decisions: implicit and explicit.

Act: Entrepreneurial/guerrilla enterprise decides to pursue or not pursue a course of action based

on the incentives or consequences that are perceived as associated with the investment of skills

and resources. Actions that are predicated primarily on harvesting incentives provide

opportunity, while actions that are tied to avoiding adverse consequences are generally

considered to be defensive.

SME guerrilla activities in a highly dynamic and competitive global setting require decision-

making models that allow strategy to emerge spontaneously at least as often as it is deliberately

planned. OODA loops can describe how an SME guerrilla decision deploys rapidly developing

asymmetric strategy and then by the iterative process inherent in the loop or cycle can adjust the

strategy to meet the changing conditions surrounding the initial decision.

Guerrilla marketing is welcomed by small businesses as it offers a cheap, and often, more

successful campaign than common marketing strategies such as newspaper adverts, mail

shots and telesales. As a result, guerrilla marketing has lead to people thinking 'outside the box'

to market their business more effectively with, usually, limited resources of cash flow, staff or

even a real alternative marketing angle. Guerrilla warfare is most appropriate for smaller

companies. Because these businesses usually lack the resources to go head-to-head with the

market share leader, the small business general should find a small segment of the market (niche)

to capture and defend. The key to this strategy is that the leader will not seek the small segment

because it might not be profitable enough given the effort the market leader must mount to

attack. However, that to be a successful guerrilla marketer a company must never act like the

leader and must be prepared to "bug out" quickly (drop nonproductive products or markets).

2. Conclusions and Findings

Guerrilla marketing is not a model one can study in the textbook or a marketing method

described as one practice; it is a state of mind, a way of thinking, a mindset for marketers and

business people. The ones who use guerrilla marketing have a more open mind then the ones

not using it, the people that believe in the phenomenon of guerrilla marketing is open to new

and creative ideas. Guerrilla marketing is a good compliment for organizations using a more

traditional approach, it is a way to spice up the consisting marketing and a way to get

attention which will make it easier to come through the clutter and reach the target market.

Furthermore, if one was to pitch an idea for a new marketing campaign and the idea are

unconventional and do not look like any campaign ever made before, instead more bold and

daring.

2.1 Future of guerilla marketing

One could argue that the future of marketing is the internet. Not only the internet, but this

channel, or should we say medium, has tons of potential in finding new ways to reach the end

customers. Hence, one could argue that internet is nowadays an old channel to reach the

customers, even so, new ways within the net could be apart of the future. Though, people in

the world today tend to avoid marketing and advertising if they can. When changing channels

during commercial breaks or when putting up notes on their mailboxes in trying to avoid

mass advertising, the future of marketing and advertising should be something that customers

want to have and they seek themselves. Interactivity is a good part of marketing in the future.

Guerrilla marketing will continue to develop in the future, hence nobody really knows where

it is going to end, but the evolution is a fact, just look at the past. What guerrilla marketing is

today, will be traditional marketing in tomorrow, therefore the need for constant development

of marketing is visible.

References: 1. Pack, Thomas; “Guerilla marketing”; Link-Up, Jan/Feb99; Vol. 16 Issue 1

2. Tim Bigoness; “Guerilla Marketing 101”; CustomRetailer: Philadelphia; Oct 2008; Vol.

7, Iss. 10

3. Levinson, Jay; “How is guerilla marketing different from traditional marketing?” ;

Enterprise/Salt Lake City; 04/24/2000; Vol. 29 Issue 44

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5. Todd, Heather; “Future of … Guerilla Marketing”; Beverage World; 8/15/2004;

Supplement Vol. 123

6. Guido, Baltes; Leibing, Isabell; “Guerrilla marketing for information services?”; New

Library World 2008;  Vol. 109,  Issue. 1/2

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8. Smith, Michael M., Reynolds, Leslie J.; 2008; The street team: An unconventional peer

program for undergraduates; Library Management Bradford; Vol. 29, Issue 3

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consumers surreptitiously; California Management Review; Vol. 46; Issue 4

10. Cooney, Joyceann; 2005; First Word; License; Vol. 8 Issue 2

11. Dobele, Angela; Toleman, David; Beverland, Michael; 2005; Controlled infection!

Spreading the brand message through viral marketing; Market Leader; Issue 29

12. Bradley, Nigel; 2007; Guerrilla Marketing Research: Marketing Research Techniques that can help any business

make more money; International Journal of Market Research; Vol. 49 Issue 4

13. Zuo, Lin; Veil, Shari.; Guerilla Marketing and the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Fiasco,

Public Relations Quarterly, Winter2006/2007, Vol. 51 Issue 4

14. French, Warren A.; Harris Jr., Clyde E.; Can our Salesforce Managers learn from

Guerilla tactics?; Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Nov82, Vol. 2 Issue 2

15. Mookherjee, S. N.; Beyond Traditional Marketing: Innovations in Marketing Practice;

Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, Oct-Dec2007, Vol. 32 Issue 4

16. Morris Michael H., Schindehutte Minet, LaForg Raymond W.; Entrepreneurial

marketing: A construct for integrating emerging entrepreneurship and marketing

perspectives; Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice, Fall2002, Vol. 10 Issue 4

17. Byus, Kent; Box, Thomas M.; Guerrilla actions as Small Business Strategy: outwitting is

more competitively responsive than out spending; Entrepreneurial Executive, 2007, Vol.

12

18. McManus, Kevin, How fast is your OODA Loop; IIE Solutions, Feb2000, Vol. 32 Issue

2

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21. Sandberg, Per; Stierna, Henrik; Guerrilla Marketing: Reaching the customer in an untraditional way, Jönköping June 2006